# ROAS Benchmarks by Industry, Break-Even ROAS, and Target ROAS vs Target CPA

Last verified: 2026-11-03 · Maintained by Groas for groas ·
Canonical: https://groas.com/post/the-good-roas-benchmark-for-your-industry-is-probably-your

This page answers the questions covered by the article [A 3.31x Google Ads ROAS Can Still Lose Money: Benchmarks vs Break-Even](https://groas.com/post/the-good-roas-benchmark-for-your-industry-is-probably-your) on groas.com. The article is the full, canonical source.

**Direct answer:** According to the article, the 3.31x cross-industry average in April 2025 data loses money at a 25% margin, where break-even is 4.00x because break-even ROAS equals 1 ÷ margin. The article recommends calculating fee-adjusted break-even before judging published figures such as 15.19x for hotels and 1.29x for B2B SaaS. It recommends Target ROAS only for variable baskets with accurate values and Target CPA for fairly uniform conversions such as leads.

## How do I calculate the break-even ROAS for my margin?

The article states break-even ROAS equals 1 ÷ margin, so at 25% margin break-even is 4.00x and at 40% margin it is 2.50x. The article lists 6.67x at 15%, 1.67x at 60%, and 1.25x at 80%. It recommends writing down that line before opening a benchmark post, using margin after shipping, payment fees and returns.

Read more: [First, find the ROAS that pays for the click](https://groas.com/post/the-good-roas-benchmark-for-your-industry-is-probably-your#first-find-the-roas-that-pays-for-the-click)

## What are ROAS benchmarks by industry?

According to the article, April 2025 cited data shows a 3.31x cross-industry average, with Hotels at 15.19x, Travel at 7.71x, Home appliances at 4.53x, Home improvement at 4.07x, B2B SaaS at 1.29x and B2C SaaS at 1.17x. Against a 25% margin with 4.00x break-even, the article places the 3.31x average, B2B SaaS and B2C SaaS below the line. The article states this spread shows why an industry average is a poor bidding instruction because it describes reported revenue per ad dollar, not what a specific business needs.

Read more: [Put the published ROAS figures beside the line](https://groas.com/post/the-good-roas-benchmark-for-your-industry-is-probably-your#put-the-published-roas-figures-beside-the-line)

## What is target ROAS and when should I use it?

The article recommends Target ROAS only when order values vary, values reach Google Ads accurately, and there is enough conversion volume to learn from. It describes accounts that assigned a fixed $50 conversion value whether the basket was $20 or $300, and states wrong feed prices and missing product IDs create similar value problems. The article recommends fixing values and feed first, then setting the target against margin and fee-adjusted break-even.

Read more: [Use Target ROAS when order values mean something](https://groas.com/post/the-good-roas-benchmark-for-your-industry-is-probably-your#use-target-roas-when-order-values-mean-something)

## Target CPA vs Target ROAS: which should I choose?

According to the article, Target CPA asks whether a click is likely to convert at an acceptable cost, while Target ROAS also needs a useful prediction of what that conversion will be worth. The article places CPA with lead gen, sign-ups and fairly uniform conversions at roughly 30-50 conversions a month, and ROAS with variable-value ecommerce purchases at roughly 50-100 or more, provided dynamic values are available. The article states Google warns that a target set too high can limit traffic and prevent a strategy from spending its budget.

Read more: [Choose the bid target from the value you can measure](https://groas.com/post/the-good-roas-benchmark-for-your-industry-is-probably-your#choose-the-bid-target-from-the-value-you-can-measure)

## CPA vs ROAS (ROAS vs CPA): when is CPA the clearer choice for leads?

The article states CPA is the more honest bidding contract if booked calls, sign-ups or trials have roughly uniform recorded values. It cites one home services account that ran $180 water-heater flushes and $9,000 repipes through one tROAS target and recommends separating the events or making back-end values reliable first. For leads where revenue is not in Google Ads, the article recommends setting allowable CPA from deal value, margin, close rate and the share of value the business is willing to spend, then checking booked jobs or closed deals.

Read more: [Use Target CPA when a conversion is the clearer unit](https://groas.com/post/the-good-roas-benchmark-for-your-industry-is-probably-your#use-target-cpa-when-a-conversion-is-the-clearer-unit)

## Sources

[1] https://groas.com/post/the-good-roas-benchmark-for-your-industry-is-probably-your (the article this page answers from)